Steady Ringing
by Wrenchy
Summary: All they care about is that Clock. No one cares about Ratchet. NO PAIRINGS, SLIGHT RATCHET X CLANK IF YOU SQUINT oneshot /spoilers for A Crack in Time!/


**Author's Note: **I'm absolutely certain, more than anything, that Ratchet didn't think any of this. However, I thought it would be an interesting viewpoint. Knowing Ratchet, it seems a _wee _bit out of character, but you know, doing stuff like that makes it interesting. Plus, if you just twisted the situation a little, you could find Ratchet at least saying some of the things here.

I was going to attempt to make this first person (as with the description I posted on my profile) but I eventually abandoned that for the sake of a good story. I'm better at limited omniscient, after all. (I'm pretty good at first person, I'm not saying I'm bad, I'm just better at limited omniscient.)

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Ratchet and Clank, Ratchet would _totally _be jealous of an inanimate object and _show _it while doing the polka.

--

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

That _stupid_, stupid Clock.

_ Tick, tock, tick, tock._

He hated listening to its slow, relaxed tone.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

But more than anything, he hated the concerned look that his best friend expressed over said Clock.

_The Clock of Time. It's said to be the Keeper of Time, and his best friend is meant to be the Keeper of the Clock, since it is highly coveted by those who wish to abuse it._

Ratchet knew of its importance. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was Clank was acting just like he had been when he was looking for Captain Qwark back a few years ago.

He _completely ignored _him. Okay, maybe not _completely_, but enough to make Ratchet feel all the more lonely.

And it wasn't only Clank whose mind was completely on that _stupid_, _stupid _Clock. General Alister Azimuth just couldn't stop chattering about it. He couldn't stop talking about how that Clock would "save the Lombaxes" or whatever it was he kept insisting it would do. At first, Ratchet had agreed with him, but that was _before _he knew much about the Clock, other than that it could reverse time. After Clank had told him its _real _purpose, and after he heard more about what abusing it could do, Ratchet from there on out disagreed with the General. And now, he was absolutely _fed up _with hearing about it.

Why should _Clank _have to be the Keeper of the Clock? Why _him_?

"We'll find that Clock," Alister said in a tone he hoped was reassuring, or at least Ratchet assumed.

_'But what if I don't __**want **__to find the Clock?'_

Ratchet knew it was important. He knew he was being selfish and stupid – being jealous of a _Clock_, an _inanimate object_, for goodness sake. However, he just couldn't let it go that easily. The friends that he was with were all gaga over that _stupid _Clock, and he was sick of it. _Sick. Of. It._

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

When he snuck in, with a disguise he and Clank were maintaining of Dr. Nefarious, he couldn't help but think that _Clock _was _mocking _him.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

"I got your friend," it hissed. "I got both of your friends. And you've got nothing."

_'Ratchet, you're going insane. It's not even __**talking**__. It's not it's not it's not it's not…'_

Yeah, Ratchet was smart enough to know a Clock couldn't talk. He knew _the _Clock couldn't talk, either. It maintained time. It didn't speak. Something of that great importance _couldn't _speak, no doubt.

Something of _great _importance which _couldn't _speak was _more _important than something that _could _speak and had saved _multiple galaxies _without any thanks from _either _of his two friends, while this _object of great importance _was revered by _both _of his two friends and _thanked _for doing nothing but sitting there, _tick tocking _away all day!

Jealousy is _so _stupid. Ratchet knew there was nothing to be jealous of, but _jealousy _told him that there was _much more _to be jealous of than he thought, and thus eradicated the sanity of his mind so much that it hitched a ride on Jealousy's back and then rode off into the sunset. Essentially, a long-winded way of saying, _Ratchet's common sense flew out the window_. _Common sense _would have told him it was a Clock, that Clank and General Alister Azimuth still cared about him more than the stupid thing, that the only reason they were focused on it was because it _was_ important, and he actually _recognized _it was important and just wouldn't admit it. However, Common Sense decided to take a vacation and Jealousy took his spot, and now refuses to move so Common Sense can't come back.

And _why _wouldn't the either of them help him through his mini-insanity!?

Oh yes, that's right. They were focused on that damn Clock. _That freaking Clock._

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

When they were in there with Captain Qwark, and he heard Qwark's disturbing comment of, _"I feel very close to you right now," _which he didn't bother to respond to since he had greater things to worry about, he could hear the Clock's cruel laughter when Dr. Nefarious started to rattle on about how the Clock was important to _him too_.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

He was supposed to be the hero, not some dumb Clock that would make things right again – and it wasn't going to, considering _they _were supposed to protect the thing, and Alister just _couldn't _understand that it would do absolutely _nothing _if he tampered with it, and the same case with Dr. Nefarious. He had been rescuing all those stupid galaxies, made up of ungrateful ingrates who did nothing but complain about him. And now this Clock was being revered for doing _nothing _but just sitting there all day, _tick tocking _away!

And _who _was it who made that Clock anyway? What had he been _thinking _when he created that thing? Was he just as obsessed with saving the universe with that thing as his friends were now? Or was he just like Dr. Nefarious, wanting to control the whole entire universe by manipulating space and time with it? Wait, he had been Clank's father. Right. And Clank would never want to abuse that Clock. He just wished he _knew _what was so freaking important about that thing that made people care about it more than an organic life form who had been through thick and thin.

And seriously, sending them out on an asteroid so he could have _alone time _with that stupid Clock? He thought Dr. Nefarious was a genius. Actually, he thought all of them were geniuses, but apparently the only one with any sense besides Ratchet himself was Lawrence, who had absolutely no interest in the Clock itself and was only following Dr. Nefarious's orders.

Not that he was going to let a stupid asteroid get in the way of protecting that Clock. He needed to protect it. Clank wanted him to, and as much as he _hated _that infernal tone that he kept hearing droning from the Clock, he loved his friend. He wanted to help Clank as much as he possibly could. And he knew how important this was to him, so he was going to help, even if he would continue cursing the stupid thing in his head.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

The sound was droning sadly as he listened to Clank – his probable last words with his little robotic companion.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

"It was… what I was built for." Yes, Ratchet knew that. It was important to Clank; it had always been important to him. And Ratchet knew he couldn't compare himself to the Clock, which was able to Keep time, something that Ratchet couldn't do. He had no power over anything. He couldn't even keep his friend by his side anymore.

Clank stuck out his hand.

Ratchet took one knee in front of his best friend ever, staring the little robot in the eye, and scooped him into both of his arms.

At least he could do that. At least he could hug Clank. At least he could show that he cared, that if he wasn't important to Clank, at least Clank was important to _him_.

_Why why why why why…_

That Clock had completely stolen his life.

But at least he could allow Clank to fulfill his purpose. It felt important to him – no matter how much he hated the Clock, he cared for Clank much more. He would do anything for Clank – even let him go for the sake of the Clock, for the sake of _his _happiness, for the sake of fulfilling _his _purpose. Whatever Clank could do to make himself feel worth something, Ratchet would allow him to take part of.

"You know, you were never _just _a sidekick." He _never ever _could be _just _a sidekick to Ratchet. He was never just a sidekick.

"Really? I always thought _you _were the sidekick," Clank giggled back, and Ratchet gave him a sad smile. Oh, you had no idea, Clank… you had no idea…

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

It was the last sound Ratchet could hear – besides the painful beating of his heart against his rib cage, as he swung around and he felt a powerful blast of energy stab him right in the chest.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock._

For once, he found it… scary. Not the dreadful, "oh all my frustrating problems are associated with that _stupid _sound," but an actual sound of… death. A death tone. An _end tone_. The sound, its haunting dull careful tone pounding within his bloodthirsty ears, marked uncertainty – _fear_ – and reflected all he had been feeling within this journey, this _ride_, one that he had never wanted to take part in at all.

_"Ratchet!" _he heard a cry from above as his body sliced through the air, darkness starting to shield his eyes.

_'Clank. Take care of that Clock. __**For me**__.'_


End file.
